Dreadlocks. DIY

They took me 4ish days to complete. On the 3rd morning I woke up thinking ‘What the hell am I doing?’ I was worried about dropping my girls off to school Monday, worried about what Glen’s family would think, worried about what my girls would say. I was prepared to spend hours trying to comb out the ones I’d already done.

But then I ‘woke up to myself’ (which some of you I am sure would have liked me to do BEFORE I’d done a single one.)

I thought if I finish them whats the worst that could happen?

Surely those who loved me prior to dreadlocks would still love me afterwards right?

Dreadlocks are not a permanent thing like a tattoo. If I like them I can keep them for as long as I like, if not I can cut them off and let my hair grow back.

Why was I worrying about what anyone thinks?

It is something I try my hardest not to worry about. EVER.

I am me.

I’ll live my life to its fullest and try to do and learn all that I can in my short lifetime.

The way I want. The things I want.

And never ever regret a single thing.

So they’re done. I’m very happy with them. The girls and I have been having fun creating sparkling little dangly things to hang from them, trying our different styles and snuggling them. (They’re so cosy!)

My plan is to keep them for at least 12 months. (Most likely longer) But when I no longer want/like them I will put each one up for auction. I’ll then cut each one off during the ‘shave for a cure’ in the hopes that I can help a good cause. I think it’s going to be fun to have NO hair too.

So here are my dreadlocks.

If you would like to DIY -which I know thousands of you do! 😉 – Here’s how. (my way.)

You’ll need a metal tooth comb. I used a long metal toothed nit comb as it was smaller and easy to handle.

Corn flour.

Small elastic bands (I used some ordinary hairbands too and they work the same.)

LOTS of time….(space it out if needed, I did mine over 4 days.)

Method. (TRY to get friends and family involved to help, it makes it much quicker and easier especially when the back of your head is difficult to do on your own.)

Firstly wash your hair. Preferably with a residue free shampoo to strip hair of ‘sleeking, shining, softening, perfume, and anti-frizz’ goo….(The reason some people’s dreadlocks ‘smell’ or go ‘mouldy’ is because of a build up of all these things which are normally used to coat the hair follicles to smooth them out. It makes hair harder to dry out when in dreads. It builds and causes the hair within the dreadlocks to remained damp. Not nice.)

Dry hair out. Whilst still a little damp section out your hair. Good sizing would be squares between 2×2 cm and 5×5 cm. Make sure each lump of hair is roughly the same size. Make sure the band is tight and placed as closely to the roots as you can. The chunk of hair may seem small but once you begin your dreadlock it will thicken up a lot. (You can still see the sections in my hair. Use this as reference. The sections will become less and less visible as the dreads ‘mature.’)

Once your hair is totally dry and you are happy with the layout and size of your sections, you can begin to ‘backcomb.’ I took a pinch of corn flour between thumb and for finger and rubbed it into the hair I was about to dread. The corn flour draws moisture away from the hair follicles and makes it ‘lock’ better and quicker. Each strand of hair is covered in minute scales, when dreading your hair you need to train your hair to do the opposite of what every single shampoo and conditioner on the market forces our hair to do. To dread hair the ‘scales’ need to be open and rough so the hair will inter ‘lock’ together rather than be sleek and slippery. Use more further down the dread if needed to help cause more friction.

Once you’ve rubbed in the corn flour begin to back comb. Holding your sectioned piece out from your hair straight and firmly, use the metal toothed comb to ‘back comb’ this is the same as ‘teasing’ your hair only you want to use long strokes. with each stroke allow only a few hairs to release and knot up at the very base where your tie is. Keep going until there begins to become a matted knot. Feel it to make sure it is firm and not a ‘loose’ knot. if it is, use the comb to back comb through the knot to tighten it all up. Don’t go too far down as it is hard to tighten it up once the whole thing is done. It needs to feel firm and spongey. Not loose and ‘hollow.’

Once your dread is done and your happy with it, you can cut the band off from the base. I used a pair of finger nail clippers as it was easier on my own then a pair of scissors when I couldn’t see the back of my head!

continue until your whole heads done…….(a few days later….)

Palm roll. after your dreadlocks are done and each day in the beginning you’ll need to palm roll them. Ever seen a cave man trying to begin a fire rubbing a stick between his palms in the movies? Thats palm rolling.do it to each one.

(Now, there are things that some people do differently to what I did like use a natural wax like beeswax or vegan wax. I chose not to do this. They rub it into their dreads and palm roll it in, then use a hair dryer to heat, they then use paper towel to absorb the excess from the surface of the hair. Some also use a think called ‘locking peppa’ I came to the conclusion that corn flour does the very same with without the chemicals. Visit the ‘dreadheadHQ’ website if your interested in methods other than I have used. Its packed full of information and has a heap of FAQ’s.)

It is recommended that you not wash your dreadlocks for between 4 and 7 days after they are done. Once you do begin to wash them, they should be done every 3 days at least. preferably using a residue free shampoo specifically for dreadlocks. I have decided that I won’t be using any shampoo at all, I will wash them every second morning vigorously with just water and use the cornflour at the roots to absorb excess moisture away from the strands.

So what did Glen say when he came home from work?..

“You hippie.” But he said the same thing when I got my nose pierced also when I got my tattoo and every time he smiled and every time he hugged me and said he loved me. So I figure he’s got the unconditional kind of love for me. I don’t think he has speciffically said yes or no that he does or does not like them.

I think thats a good sign.

Bella has asked me to do some in her hair which I have said ‘no.’ I actually kind of feel bad, because when I was her age and asked my mother if I could have them, she also said no. Except she didn’t have them herself!

Violet also loves them and wants some of her own.

Buddy and Molly like them and now that I have ‘things’ hanging from some of them they think they are toys I’ve attached to my head just for their entertainment.

Sophie…..*sigh* She said “Mum; I hate them. You don’t look like a princess one bit.”

“But maybe I want to be a different kind of princess Soph.” I said.

“Princesses have long golden hair like me mum.”

“No, I think that was only Rapunzel. And I don’t want to be like Rapunzel.”

“Ok fine. I’ll be the beautiful Rapunzel kind of princess and you can be a different princess then.” She said with an eye roll. “You’re still pretty I guess.”

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2 thoughts on “Dreadlocks. DIY”

I love it! It’s so great that you took the plunge. I totally had the same hesitation. I had my whole head sectioned out… and then I was sitter there thinking “I’m about to pass the point of no return”. But my dear friends reminded me that it’s just hair, that the judgement that people might have says more about the judger than the judgie, and that I had to be prepared to “own it” and “work it”. Good girl friends always know just what to say, right!? In the last month and a half I’ve been surprised at how little reaction I’ve gotten. Good luck and welcome to the journey!!

Thanks so much Jessica! I’m glad I’ve done it. This morning was the first time I’ve been ‘out’ with my new locks. I dropped my girls at school. It was interesting! The crossing lady who normally tries to talk my ear off said good morning but nothing more I could see her watching me and kept looking at me from the corner of her eye! lol I’m not sure if she was afraid of me or wanted to say something but realised I was more ‘different’ than she’d previously assumed. I figure that I am the same person I was before the dreadlocks so if I am no longer ‘good enough’ to talk to or that I’m now some ‘weird stranger’ than that is not my problem. I actually like that my hair can now ‘cull’ those who aren’t interested in ‘me’ lol I am curious though if it would have been different if I’d bleached my hair or had it cut. Guess we’ll never know.
Thank you! I’m glad to have kind of ‘met’ you lol it would be nice to get in contact with more dread heads lol I’m learning so much. It’s far more than just a simple ‘hairstyle’ thats for sure 😀 xoxo

Yager

Married with 5 children should say it all; The insides of my head and heart are splattered all over this blog! This isn't your typical mummy blog. Sometimes I say too much, sometimes not enough. The cake on my face says it all. I think honesty is the best quality someone can have. I think happiness is the best choice someone can make.
email me: yagerbabies@gmail.com